Noise Levels in Darnestown, Gaithersburg, MD | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
48 dBA
Average noise across Darnestown
Quiet office
505
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
10% of Darnestown residents
65 dBA
Loudest residential point
Busy restaurant
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Darnestown at 100-meter resolution, combining road, aviation, and rail sources. Green areas measure below 45 dBA. Orange and red exceed the EPA's 55 dBA outdoor threshold linked to long-term health effects. Use the layer toggles to view each source on its own or all together.
What the numbers sound like
- 30 dBAWhisper
- 40 dBASoft rainfall
- 45 dBAQuiet suburban street at night
- 50 dBAQuiet office
- 55 dBAEPA outdoor threshold: light traffic 100 ft away
- 60 dBANormal conversation an arm's length away
- 65 dBABusy restaurant
- 70 dBAHighway traffic 50 ft away
- 80 dBACity bus interior
Population Above the EPA Outdoor Threshold
The EPA's 55 dBA outdoor reference level is a common benchmark for residential noise exposure, especially for activity interference, annoyance, and long-term community noise concerns. About 505 Darnestown residents, or 10.3%, live above that level. By land area, 12.1% of Darnestown is above 55 dBA.
87.9% below 55 dBA
12.1% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Darnestown compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Darnestown
Average noise levels for Darnestown residents, grouped by direction from the center of Darnestown. The highest population-weighted average is in northeastern Darnestown; the lowest is in southwestern Darnestown, where just 2% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in the loudest section.
Northeastern Darnestown
50.4 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Northwestern Darnestown
48.6 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Western Darnestown
44.9 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Eastern Darnestown
44.8 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Southwestern Darnestown
44.8 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
To the human ear, noise in northeastern Darnestown sounds about 47% louder than in southwestern Darnestown, a 5.6 dBA gap. Every 10 dBA roughly doubles perceived loudness. Within any of these directions, two homes a quarter mile apart can still differ by 10 or more dBA depending on how close they sit to a major highway.
How far back from do you need to be?
produces an estimated 65 dBA at its loudest centerline points. Noise drops logarithmically with distance, with the exact rate depending on what's between you and the road. Tree cover, walls, terrain, and pavement type all matter. At roughly a quarter mile back, traffic fades into the noise level of a soft rainfall.
At source
65 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
51 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 53% of Darnestown sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 10% is impervious surface like pavement and rooftops. Both are folded into the per-place decay rate above. Heavier canopy pulls noise down faster with distance; impervious surfaces slow the drop.
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Airport Noise
Washington Dulles International (IAD) sits southwest of Darnestown. The U.S. Department of Transportation measures aviation noise around this airport directly, and the model uses those federal measurements rather than synthetic predictions.
Blocks under the approach and departure paths carry combined road-plus-aviation noise, with some exceeding 75 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Darnestown, particularly to the northeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Darnestown
The bar chart below shows the share of Darnestown residents in each noise band. About 87% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 0% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Darnestown Compares
Darnestown sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Darnestown's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Croydon Park, North Kensington, West End Park, and Silver Rock.
Average noise level (dBA)
Darnestown's 48.2 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. Maryland as a whole averages 52.3 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Darnestown because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 10.3% of Darnestown residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's fewer than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 12.1% of Darnestown's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Maryland average of 32.9% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Darnestown
- Distance from highways matters more than the neighborhood name. Two homes in the same zip code can differ by 20 dBA if one sits 100 meters from and the other 500 meters away. The model captures this at 100-meter resolution, so noise exposure changes block by block.
- Tree canopy can help reduce modeled noise exposure. Roughly 53% of Darnestown is under tree cover (much heavier than most neighborhoods), and the dominant land cover is low-density developed open space. Both are measured from federal USDA Forest Service and USGS satellite imagery at 30-meter resolution. Streets with 60% or higher canopy show 3 to 5 dBA lower noise than comparable streets with bare ground or pavement, which is why the per-place decay rate above already accounts for it.
- Airport noise is directional. Washington Dulles International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southwest. Neighborhoods to the northeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
